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Biomedical subjects

L Helmuth

Publications and source records attributed to L Helmuth.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Neuroscience. Stem cells hear call of injured tissue.

In animal models, injected stem cells travel to tissue injured by stroke, Alzheimer's-like plaques, contusions, or spinal cord bruises, sometimes traversing long distances. Several teams reported these surprising results this month at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. No one knows exactly how stem cells detect these different kinds of damage, but researchers hope that the cells' migratory powers can be harnessed to either replace dead tissue or deliver therapeutics right where they're needed.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Neuroscience. An antibiotic to treat Alzheimer's?

An antibiotic once used to treat traveler's diarrhea might battle Alzheimer's disease as well, researchers announced here last week at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting. The drug dissolves Alzheimer's-like plaques in mouse brains, apparently by trapping the copper and zinc that stud these deposits. A clinical trial to test whether the drug helps people with Alzheimer's is already under way.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2000

Neuroscience meeting draws crowds, gripes, loyalty.

Preparing for their 30th conference, neuroscientists contemplate how the field--and the annual meeting--has grown. With the Society for Neuroscience meeting routinely packing in about 25,000 people, some neuroscientists complain about long lines and related inconveniences. But others say that the best reason to go to the meeting is precisely because it's so huge and integrates the ever-growing number of subdisciplines in the field.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Neuroscience. Video game images persist despite amnesia.

On page 350, researchers report the results of new work in which they used the computer game Tetris--which involves using spatial reasoning to slot falling blocks strategically into place--to study how the brain reviews what it has learned. The researchers found that people who have just learned to play Tetris have vivid images of the game pieces floating before their eyes as they fall asleep, a phenomenon the researchers say is critical for building memories. Much more surprisingly, the team also found that the images appear to people with amnesia who have played the game--even though they have no recollection of having done so.

Amnesia↗
PubMed2000

Microbiology. A weak link in TB bacterium is found.

The secret of the success of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, is that it can linger undetected in the lungs for decades, hiding from the immune system's macrophages that aim to chew it up and spit it out. Now a team of researchers has uncovered a vulnerability in this resilient bug that suggests new ways to starve it out of its bolt-hole.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Neurobiology. Long-sought protein packages glutamate.

Glutamate, one of two neurotransmitters that send the basic "stop" and "go" signals that most other neurotransmitters merely modulate, is called into action wherever rapid-fire excitatory signals are needed--say, for vision or learning. For decades, researchers have been looking for the protein that packages glutamate for express delivery to other neurons. On page 957, researchers report that they've found this elusive transporter, dubbed VGLUT1.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Neuroscience. Early insult rewires pain circuits.

On page 628, neuroscientists report that painful stimuli delivered to rats shortly after birth permanently rewire the spinal cord circuits that respond to pain. Not only do the circuits contain more axons, but the axons extend to more areas of the spinal cord than they normally would. The results should help convince skeptics of the importance of managing pain in human infants.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed2000

Has America's tide of violence receded for good?

Experts in the young field of violence epidemiology blame guns and crack cocaine for America's deadly crime surge in the early 1990s. Explaining the subsequent decline in violent crime rates has been more difficult, however. Some of the factors that seem to have helped squelch crime could be temporary, such as low unemployment rates. But others, including a growing intolerance for violence as a means of settling interpersonal disputes, seem to have become cultural norms.

Abortion, Legal↗